CLINTON — The bus lot overlooking routes 78 and 31 has spaces for 300 cars but is filled by 6:30 each weekday morning with commuters headed to New York City, say residents familiar with the routine.

"It would be great to have more parking," said Councilman Dan Shea, one of those commuters. He's able to limit his trips to the city to an average of twice weekly, he said, but will drive if he has later late-morning appointments rather than deal with the bus because parking is "such a problem."

"The Park and Ride has a parking problem, we don't," Mayor Janice Kovach said at a council meeting this week at which parking restrictions aimed at commuters and others taking the bus to New York City were expanded.

Some of the talk centered on commuters who live in Pennsylvania and take the bus to New York from New Jersey. The mayor mentioned a transportation study done within the past few years and said it showed that about 15% of the people using mass transit here had Pennsylvania tags on their cars.

"It is a public street," Kovach said later. "Should Pennsylvania residents be able to park on Center Street so they can commute to New York City? They're not paying Jersey taxes."

"Where do you put a commuter lot?" wondered Councilman Marty Pendergast. "Shouldn't there be one" west of the town and alongside Route 78? he asked.

Frank Gallagher lives on Center Street, outside of the zone with the 6-hour parking, and said he hadn't noticed any problems with commuters parking there, nor did he mind it when others parked on the street.

Councilwoman Megan Jones Holt lives on a street where the restrictions will now go into effect, and said she also hasn't noticed a problem.

People waiting for a Trans-Bridge Lines bus in the near lot hear, and see, cars and trucks on the intersection highways, some bound for the same destination.

Some Clinton residents walk to the bus stop or get dropped off, but it's not always convenient to do that, said Kovach. She speaks from experience — husband Stephen is one of those NYC commuters.

They live nearly a mile away from the bus stop. She, and her husband, have made the walk, but she said it's not practical on a daily basis. "The commute to the city is long enough without adding a 30 minute walk to it" at this end, she said. "And there are no sidewalks on Route 173 so walking, especially at night, usually in dark clothes, is dangerous."

In winter, she said, the walk could take place in the dark in both directions.

Shea voiced the same issues, and noted an advantage to bus travel: "The buses have Wi-Fi. A mobile office is a terrific bonus."

Kovach understands why the Trans-Bridge buses are a popular alternative to the train. The Raritan Valley line runs as far west as High Bridge, with additional Hunterdon stops in Annandale and Whitehouse Station.

She said, "The hard part with the train is, you have to change in Newark" and its a local-only and therefore makes multiple stops between Hunterdon County and Newark.

Kovach hopes to get together with Clinton Township Mayor Kevin Cimei, a representative of the state Department of Transportation and the director of HART, a local agency that promotes "sustainable transportation" in Hunterdon.

"We need to get to a better place," said Kovach. "It's not just Clinton Township. We have residents who use the Park and Ride. With the benefits come the detriments to deal with."

Councilwoman Beth Sosidka voted against expanding the parking restrictions. She said she heard from "a number of residents" who commute to NYC since the parking changes were proposed.

'I'm afraid we haven't addressed the residents' concerns who have to commute into the city," she said before casting her vote. "There is a problem . . . What are we doing to help them?"

A couple of officials said that commuters may park in one of the town's lots that don't have a time restriction, such as one on Water Street. That is about a mile away from the bus stop.

It may be a walk, said Councilman Bob Smith, but "it's better to go to the Water Street lot, and not get a ticket."

"There is no quick answer," said Kovach. "This is a temporary BandAid. The bigger issue needs to be addressed. How do we work together and make it convenient for everyone?"

Shea knows that towns do benefit from serving as transit hubs and has "often looking at what we can do to bring more people into town" to support local businesses. He said that one entrepreneur has even crafted a business out of the tight parking situation, shuttling commuters from a distant lot to the station.

"I think he charges $10 a day," said Shea, comparable to the daily rate at a train station.